Bride of Alvar (Redemption Saga, Book 1)

Chapter 18

From what I can see limited by the darkness in the pit of Goblia, this place is like a nightmarish fantasy. The gobli here are not the most comely of creatures either. In fact, I realize very shortly that Fletch is perhaps the most handsome of all gobli males I've met. Many of the males have humps on their backs and disturbing eyes the size of tennis balls popping from their skulls... or no eyes at all. I cannot help but shirk away from time to time. I hope it doesn't insult them. Their bodies are covered with boils or warts, some are missing limbs and others have more limbs than necessary.

When a rough hand tugs my own hand I jolt, only to look down and see Fletch.

"All those you see, inbred gobli. Remora is the mother of all," Fletch informs, his nose wrinkled. "There is only one female allowed to live in a gobli hive at a time. A barbaric old-ways custom."

"Oh my gosh," I whisper, shuddering at the gremlins surrounding me. Inbreeding would explain it though. "Why?"

"The religion established in Goblia is one of a great and terrible goddess," Fletch mutters. "Most male grunts you see have short lives and any female babies hatched are destroyed unless Remora sees fit to keep her as a princess to rule after she's gone. It's a terrible system, but Remora brought back the old ways after appointing herself queen. She lays about ten eggs every week, those eggs are the future of the hive."

"How did she even start such an detrimental rule here?" I ask.

"Saul helped install her as queen and promoted these ways, if you ask me he did this in order to weaken the last remaining organized gobli city. Remora is the only ruler leftover from his reign," Fletch explains. "Our people were enslaved by Saul to work in his mines until Saul 'generously' appointed Remora our leader. As if that freed any gobli workers..." Fletch snorts, "Goblia used to be a place of family clans, matriarchal, yes, but not to this extreme where there is only one female."

"I saw you were enslaved, that's terrible," I say, remembering my viewing of Fletch working in the mines in Alvar's memories.

"You know?" Fletch considers me. "How would you know? It was long before you were born that we served as slaves here."

"Sorry, I just meant, someone told me that," I cover.

"Oh," Fletch smiles vaguely and glances at Alvar's Mystar. "It's alright, you can keep secrets with me, Queen Lucy, I'm Alvar's oldest friend and know all of his secrets."

Our conversation comes to a forced halt when we approach Remora's palace carved out of the side of the pit.

"Come in, King Alvar and Queen Lucy," Remora cackles, batting her yellow eyes at my husband. "Our feast will be one to remember."

I shiver at her words and note Alvar's eyes turn red for a second. Hmm. Maybe he senses something is off... just like me.

We enter the palace and are surrounded by gobli guards one either side, they form a line up to a long dining table made of stone. Plates are set and there are servers-inbred gobli much like those we saw in the city-waiting to deliver the meal to us. Remora walks to the head and motions for Alvar to sit beside her, I am indicated to sit next to him. Fletch is on her other side.

Crap.

It as at this moment I realize I desperately need to pee.

"Alvar, I think I need to visit the restroom," I redden upon the words and hope he gets what's I'm talking about. I'd never thought about what kind of words they use in Axus to refer to the bathroom. So far I hadn't needed to ask. My room had a gorgeous lavatory attached to it.

"Of course, Grey will stand guard if you wish," Alvar's tone is understanding.

Phew. He gets it.

Alvar motions his head at Grey.

One of the gobli servers indicates for us to follow him. I leave my husband at the table and head down a side passage which ends at a simple wood door, which only reaches the height of my chest.

"It's in here, Queen Lucy" the gobli server rasps, bowing to me and extending his scrawny arm toward the door.

"Thank you," I tell him, trying not to wrinkle my nose. He's particularly ugly, with boils covering his hide and no eyes. His ears droop on the sides of his head to the ground.

"I'll be waiting right here, your majesty," Grey assures, crossing his arms over his chest and standing straight. "If you need anything, holler."

"Will do," I say, and duck under the door and into the gobli bathroom. Once inside the carved out room I find my senses assaulted with the smell of sewer. Oh boy. I hold my breath and realize it's a good thing I've been doing squats at my gym for the past three months cause I'd rather not sit on anything this crude and disgusting place has to offer.

The room is so dark, only a faint orange glow lights the black stone. I try not to dwell on how insanely creeped out I am. If this is supposed to be a palace lavatory, I don't even want to know what a common bathroom looks like!

I think back to what Fletch said.

No children, no women, no loving relationships, just the queen and her orders... I shudder. What a world to live in! Poor Fletch. He must feel such an outcast to his own people here and to the humans and sylphs in Underlund. I wonder if there are other gobli which exist anywhere in Ferar, gobli who aren't under Remora's rule.

I walk toward a dripping water basin next to the door to rinse my hands. Suddenly, I feel a sharp sting on my shoulder, as if a biting bug has landed on me. On instinct my hand swats at the spot, but instead of a bug, it's a dart I yank from my skin.

What the...?

I get a chance to scream before my head starts spinning and I hear Grey pounding on the door as I fall back against something alive and solid. I try to struggle against the drug, but I can't fight it. My world fades and the last thing I see is the head of a large ugly gobli looming over me and a familiar voice saying, "So you're the real bride of Alvar, huh?"